


dance of the snowflakes

by runningfaucet



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Aromantic Reader, Christmas market, F/M, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Holidays, Multi, New Year's Eve, Other, aro-ace reader, dancer!jeno, fluff fluff and fluff, gender neutral reader, meet cute, retail worker!reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-28 22:29:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17191481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/runningfaucet/pseuds/runningfaucet
Summary: staff getting to use private bathrooms during the Christmas market season has more than one benefit





	dance of the snowflakes

A bit out of breath from taking the stairs two steps at a time you stood in front of the door that read "Third Level", with a little propped up sign that said "DreamDancers" and "Hattery".

Once more you debated just texting your colleague, the one that knew where the private toilets that you were allowed to use, now that the usual washrooms were overflowing with christmas market attendees, were. But then again the girl that came down the stairs just now and that you asked, had probably definitely said third floor. With a last sigh you pulled open the dark grey door, stepping through and into the hallway behind it.

Several doors greeted you, but none had the telltale restroom sign on them that you so desperately searched for. The corridor took a sharp turn to the left after just a couple of steps.

Careful, hoping that nobody would witness your exploration into unknown territory in search to relief yourself, you stepped around the corner. Almost instantly a door little ways further down opened and a guy walked out, turning his head to listen to a voice wafting from the room he just left. It was too far down for you to hear clearly, but his sudden appearance momentarily froze you into your spot.

Shit.

You fought down the rising anxiety and continued down your path, eyes searching the walls for the door that had to be here somewhere, trying your best not to make eye-contact with whoever was standing there.

"No, shut up! If you take longer than five, I'm out of here."

The stranger let the door click shut and you were almost past him- "Hi! Are you looking for something?"

His voice was soft, friendly but also carried the ring of someone who was used to telling people that no, this wasn't the hallways for the toilets, please leave we have important business to attend to within five and after that they're out of here.

Or so.

You looked up to meet his curious gaze.

His face fit his voice - warm eyes that bend under the small smile. His dark hair was wet in some spots, sticking up like he ran his hands through it. There was no physical explanation how he was not burning up this very instant, bundled up like he was.

His sweatpants were tucked into leg warmers around his ankles that were pulled up to different heights over his shins, a moderately thick winterjacket hid his upper body and a tube scarf wrapped around his neck and lay on his shoulders. The strap of his sports bag crossed his chest, and a pair of gloves was tucked into one of his pockets.

"Uh- I work here in the building; we were told we could use the toilets here to avoid the line-ups... Do you, um, can you, can you point me in the right direction?"

He was tall, head tipped forward so he could look down on you, and the way his smile looked so lighthearted, so _sincere_ , was like a soft punch into your gut. People this friendly with random strangers that walked on the floor were a mystery to you. Or you were just too introverted.

"Oh yeah, sure! It'll just be down this hallway and then the next chance you get on the right. So like, walk down here-" He turned and pointed down the direction away from the corner you had come around. "And then, see, down there you head right. It's pretty much exactly there."

His eyes glinted, and his voice had lost the slight territorial ring to it that came naturally after you find someone you don't know in an area you can navigate blind.

Relief and a slightly uncomfortable hot wave rolled down your back at knowing your goal so close and being helped this this nice person.

"Great. Thanks!" You gave him a thumbs up and proceeded, a little faster now that your feet followed a determined path.

 

A couple of minutes later you moved back out, mentally comparing the hallway to the image that you saw upon entering it to make sure you found your way back out.

The guy was still hanging around the door you saw him come out of earlier, and you send him a small grin as you passed him. His own face lit up in a full blown smile and a warm feeling fell into your stomach as you turned your head away.

Sometimes it was sad that such chance encounters didn't grew into something like friendships just because you had the feeling the other person was awfully nice, you thought to yourself on your trip down the stairs and back to the shop.

 

The last three hours until your shift ended were decidedly uneventful, almost boring, and so your mind wandered back to the stranger in the hallway.

What a great first impression, asking for the washroom, it mulled over in your thoughts, but the nagging ones were soon pushed away at the memory of the radiant smile. Surely it was illegal to be this friendly to someone you had never seen before. It shouldn't be allowed for people to look at strangers this friendly. You wondered if your poor heart was over-interpreting or if his gaze was really as warm as you recalled it.

The thoughts strayed while you folded t shirts, going over his outfit.

It screamed warmth and comfort, and judging by the protection he had regarded his joints with, he must've been part of the dancers practicing in the old building. You hadn't even known there was a studio here, much less a hattery.

A dancer. You wondered what kind of dancing. Ballet? But wasn't that stereotypical? What other forms of dance even were there?

Deciding you were vastly undereducated you finished the current stack of shirts and went to place them on the shelf.

 

* * *

 

 

You anticipated running into him again over the following days, always half expecting him to be there in front of the inconspicuous blue door like the first time. Whenever you rounded the corner and wasn't met with his figure you felt oddly disappointed and relieved at the same time.

The Christmas Market was in full swing and people kept pushing in, and so you had little time to dwell on such things.

 

* * *

 

 

It was almost time to open the shop and you knew you were running behind schedule already but could no longer ignore the demands of your body and decided to just make a break for it. You placed the little "Be back in a few minutes!" sign over the regular opening hours hanging in the door and locked it behind you before making a beeline down the side of the building.

You only caught sight of a bright blue and white sneaker as it was on the brink of vanishing into the slowly closing door you were headed for, but whoever it belonged to was attentive enough to put their hand against the wood and hold it open for you.

"Thank-" Your eyes met deep brown ones that lit up in recognition. "-you."

"You're welcome." He said, his smile half hidden below his scarf.

You climbed the stairs first, in turn holding the door to his floor open for him.

"Why, thank _you_." He said quietly, breezing past you. His legs did wide steps that seemed very light and bouncy, as if he was walking on a cloud. Slight envy stole into your heart at the effortless elegance with which he pushed open the door to his training facility and simultaneously gave you a last smile.

 

On the same day, roughly six hours later, you went for a quick run again, a headache creeping up your temples. It was decidedly busy, and people were buying, but it still felt somewhat off. A few individuals had asked accusing questions concerning some products that had more been statements about them being unhappy about something, and you were tired of telling people that no, you didn't have that one thing, only the stuff they could see throughout the shop. So caught up were you that you didn't notice the person on the other side of the door and pulled it open, right out of their hand, and because they had had their attention focused elsewhere, promptly fell forward.

"Oh jeez I'm so sorry!" You hurried to apologize, eyebrows drawing together as you recognized your by now almost-friend. "Hey you're still here?"

Apart from his pride he seemed fine although he was pouting slightly. "No, I'm just leaving."

You rolled your eyes and his pout morphed into a grin.

"Long day of practice." He added, voice honest and with a tired edge. You nodded sympathetically.

"Alright. Have a nice evening, then."

"Thanks." He smiled at you again, and this time you could really see the exhaustion on his face.

He shuffled away, head down and hands buried in his pockets as soon as he was out of the building. The security guard in front of the stairs leading up nodded as you passed with a smile in their direction.

 

* * *

 

 

It became a little habit to greet the dancer whose name you still hadn't heard whenever you'd cross paths, and every time that happened it brightened your day. It was closer to Christmas now, and despite that the day was, saleswise, utterly dead. There hadn't even been ten people in the shop over the course of four hours, and so you took your time washing your hands and drying them until there really was no wet spot left on them before exiting the washroom and sauntering back towards the inevitable boredom that was awaiting you in the shop.

You were barely past the blue door Mr. Friendliest Smile always vanished behind when it opened and a shout reached your ears.

"Oi Jeno wait for me!"

"No way Yu, you're not even dressed yet! I have places to be!"

With mild interest you looked back over your shoulder and found the boy you'd been greeting recently wrapping his scarf around his head. His eyes caught yours and without much pause he fell into a short jog to match up with you.

"Hey!" He greeted.

"Hi." Your eyes went back to the door. "So your name is Jeno?"

He beamed down at you and finished adjusting his scarf. "Yeah! ...I really didn't tell you before? Wow, rude of me. What's your name?"

A grin played around your lips and you held the door to the corridor open for him. "It's ________. Pleased to meet you."

"No no, _I'm_ pleased to meet _you_! How's today going?"

You sighed and pointedly refrained from giving a comment and were rewarded with his laugh ringing out behind you.

"That bad, huh?"

"You don't even- It's _so_ dead! Like! I- I don't even have something I could sneak in as a cool pop culture reference here, that's how dead it is!" You sighed again and hung your head, shooting Jeno a halfhearted smirk afterwards and he laughed again.

"Aw no, I'm sure it'll pick up again soon and then you'll be as busy as a bee." He bend forward to be on one height with your face when he spoke, and you rolled your eyes again.

"It both sucks and I just wanna go home. Lucky you."

This time he held the door open for you, but when you looked up at him again he seemed to have lost some of his chipperness.

"Mhm, yeah. I'm sure you'll be fine, though." You almost got lost in the way his eyes shone, his lips curled upwards.

"I am, now." You mumbled before you could hold yourself back.

"I, I mean. Yeah, probably." You corrected yourself, feeling heat creep up your neck and looking in another direction.

"Was nice seeing you today." Jeno said, hands already buried in his jacket.

"Take care!"

"You too. Don't die out of annoyance over people, please!" Not knowing how to respond to that you just grinned and waved, watching him leave in the vague direction of the streetcar station.

You didn't know what you had done to deserve such a pleasant encounter, but nonetheless you felt much better than before, still smiling about the little chat even when you pushed the door to the shop open again.

 

* * *

 

 

The bell at the door chimed and you couldn't immediately stand up from where you were crouched behind the counter, sorting things. "Hello! How's it going!" You yelled nonetheless, before resolutely pushing the catalogs into an empty spot and rising. The world spun from your abrupt movement and your hands found the edge of the counter to hold on to.

"So this is where you vanish off to every time we part ways." The voice was a familiar one.

Jeno leaned on the counter with both arms, as always in his i'm-staying-outside-in-a-snowstorm-and-have-to-keep-warm look, complete with a colourful red hat that ended in a fuzzy pom-pom. His nose was tipped with red but his smile was as warming as ever.

"Oh hey. Yeah, you discovered my mancave - please don't tell anyone."

He chuckled and looked around the shop. "Actually never been in here. What kinda stuff do you guys sell?"

"Mostly t shirts and caps." You answered, before going down the list of other items. Halfway through Jeno lifted his hands and admitted defeat.

"Enough, enough! I get it, a lot of awesome stuff."

"Basically, yeah." You drawled, not deeming it necessary to put on your customer service facade. "It's pretty expensive though, depending on what you want."

"Can't a guy get a discount because he knows the lovely cashier?"

Your stomach flipped.

"Very flattering." You rolled your eyes and swallowed through the heat that began to rise in your middle.

After a lengthy stroll around the shop he circled back to your position at the till. He gently pushed his items towards you and you rang them up. Continuing with the conversation from before, you said:

"I don't know, do you know the lovely cashier?"

Two could play this game, and you lifted an eyebrow as you bagged the small patch and keychain he had brought over. He glanced at his trainer-clad feet, face suddenly devoid of any smugness. Worry wormed its way into your belly. Had you gone too far?

"I guess, I don't," His eyes travelled up until they met yours, and you anticipated his next words, waiting behind parted lips, chapped from the cold. "-But if you'd be okay with it, I'd really like to change that."

His eyebrows twitched up, accompanied by a tiny smile as he stood on the other side of the counter, in front of your speechless form, clutching the strings of the bag tightly between his fingers.

"Um. Yeah! Yeah, why not! Hang on." You dove behind the counter, rifling through the box with miscellaneous office stuff, producing a sticky note and a pen. "I don't have my phone on me right now, but- this is my number." You papped the note in front of him, and with nimble fingers he picked it up, eyes shining.

"Thanks! I'll definitly text you later?" "I'll be waiting for it." You shot him a small grin and crossed your arms on the counter.

"Alright." He tore his gaze away from the small numbers on the yellow paper, still sticking to his fingers. "See you!"

 

Your mind came up with elaborate ways in which he could lose your number before getting the chance to text you, or alternatively how he would refrain from ever doing so after realizing he didn't like you all of a sudden.

Which was ridiculous.

Of course.

 

But his first text arrived an hour after you were off, and the happy feeling that had bloomed in your chest all evening swell to an almost painful pressure of excitement.

 

* * *

 

 

Jeno was bad at texting. Sometimes he wouldn't reply to you for hours on end, and then he'd completely disregard any unspoken rules of texting and mass-send you stuff about his day, almost like a diary entry.

You stared down on your screen in one of your breaks, absentmindedly taking a bite out of your wrap, sighing and putting the device down after another moment. He had a lot to learn concerning texting, and you wondered where he had collected these awful habits. But it was bearable.

Nothing that couldn't have been smoothed out, eventually. Hopefully.

It was easier in person.

Neither of your schedules matched up for a full free day during the next week, and in lack of an actual date, Jeno waited for you to finish work after he was done with training. You walked down the street to a small restaurant, got food and dug in - and only afterwards, after Jeno had made a rather lame pun, did the somewhat awkward air dissolve.

He asked about your job in the small shop, and in return you shot all the questions about the dance studio you hadn't even known was there for so long at him.

It was so easy to talk with him. He laughed at the right places, tilted his head in puzzled curiosity at others, rolled his eyes in fake annoyance before he broke out in laughter. He listened intently to your travel plans that would hopefully come true after finishing work here, and over the excitement that was talking about your goals and what you wanted to see all around the world, you almost missed the way he was resting his chin on his fist, eyes trained on you, a soft expression on his face. Eventually both of you registered it had been long enough that you took up the booth in the small place and found the clock at a way later time than acceptable for both of your sleep schedules.

The conversation continued, slightly less animatic, during your trip in the streetcar to the train station, where he revealed he didn't exactly knew what to do with the split between his dancing and the classes he squeezed in between - or the other way around. "I'm good, but I'm not exactly - not exactly a genius, and I don't know if it'll be enough to move forward with my studies. And concerning school... I'm not the brightest there, either, and I just-"

He broke off and stared at a spot on the opposite, empty seat, before blinking and nervously glancing at you. You looked away after a moment.

"I understand." You mumbled, thinking of your own position - suspended in limbo with no clear direction of a way forward. You found his brown eyes again. "I get it, really. I have no idea what to do either... study? Work, more? Try out to work in a space and move up the career ladder? I don't know. I'm hoping to maybe know more next year. Maybe I'll find a summer love that will sweep me away into a world of their own, and I won't have to come up with something myself." You joked, but your heart wasn't in it.

Clutching the strings of your backpack you looked up at Jeno, unsure how to proceed. The evening had felt like reconnecting with an old friend, even though you had yet to grow fully used to his humour, but the fact remained that you barely knew each other.

"Do you like hugs?" You asked, figuring out to be straightforward would be the best here. Jeno's eyebrows twitched up.

"I-? Yes!" And he opened his arms for you.

Instead of the fleeting linking-an-arm-around-each-other that you had half expected he hugged both of his arms around you, holding you close as you did the same, slightly surprised. He didn't immediately let go, either, which also came as a surprise. He only loosened his hold after you had let go first, and the unexpected, intense closeness left you feeling slightly unstable.

"Thank you for today." He beamed down at you, looking flustered around the edges. "It was great finally really talking to you, and not just for two words in the hallway."

A grin of your own spread on your face. "Same! Let's do this again sometime soon, okay?"

He nodded lively before waving goodbye and vanishing down the stairs to his platform while you turned and descended yours.

Once stood waiting for the train you caught Jeno's gaze across the tracks, and he briefly stuck out his tongue at you before quickly stepping out of the way for an unamused lady passing in front of him. You hid your laughter behind your hand, and he awkwardly grinned before it blew up into a proper one.

Shaking your head at him you waved one last time as your train rolled into the station, and you carried the warm feeling the action had placed in your chest all the way home and into bed.

 

* * *

 

 

Tuesdays were cinema-half-price-days and you two took advantage of that.

'Venom' was almost out of the cinemas again but you caught one of its last screenings, you having seen the movie already.

Jeno's expression was less pleasant surprise and more downright joy, and he kept rambling on your way out, all the way to the next McDonald's, where you got ice cream for the both of you, since he had insisted on getting tickets earlier. You finally got a moment of silence when he spooned a generous amount into his mouth, sucking in air to ease the immediately following brain freeze his big portion had come with. Halfway through his serving he set the cup down and you feared the worst.

"What?" You asked around a particular large piece of biscuit that had found its way into your cup.

"I just. I keep thinking back to the lobster scene." He stared down into his paper cup like it held the answers of the universe, even though he hadn't even asked a question. You clicked your tongue.

"And here I was, mulling over Eddie and Venom reaching out to each other so desperately." The last bit of now molten ice cream found its way into your mouth before you, too, placed the cup on the table and gently pushed it a little further away.

"That was a great scene, too." Jeno tilted his head. A grin played around your lips.

"No need to agree with me now... I know that lobster scene has stolen your thoughts! No need to sugarcoat the truth for me." You moved your hand so it was lying on his arm. "It's okay. You can admit it."

His eyes switched from his ice cream that he had picked up again to your gaze.

The light hit the back of his head, his hair, fluffed from him running his hand through it after taking off his beanie, creating a halo around his head. There was a bit of chocolate stuck to the corner of his mouth which his tongue licked off as his lips stretched into an amused smile. You could've lost yourself in his eyes. You smiled back briefly before looking away, a churning feeling in your stomach that hadn't been there for a long time.

"You okay?" His eyebrows drew closer together and he crossed his arms around his empty cup, leaning on the table to your side.

"Yeah." You blinked and shook your head, forcing a happy expression on your face. "Just tired... and movie-hungover."

He frowned sympathetically and took your cup to the bin for you. "Alright, let's get going then. Don't wanna deprive you of your precious sleep."

"Damn right... Wait, no, I didn't- It wasn't supposed to sound like I was trying to get rid of you."

"It's fine. I know. Don't worry."

 

* * *

 

 

It was so easy to be with Jeno.

He invited you to his dorm room after two more meetings - one where you had waited for him after practice, and one where you had gotten to actually really plan the day beforehand. The polaroid of him and you sitting on the picnic blanket in the middle of the freezing park had a special spot in your latest scrapbook.

His room held the usual furniture that came with ever changing occupants; nothing fancy, and yet he had transformed it into something purely him. Little things filled the empty spaces, posters and pictures the walls. He had a little space heater that made the room a pleasant temperature despite the thick layer of snow that had fallen outside during the last week, and you spent the afternoon hanging out, doing nothing in each other's company. You had introduced him to Vine compilations and he had taken to it like wildfire to dry grass. Whenever he found another video he really liked he made sure to send it to you.

It was so easy, you thought to yourself as you lay on your back, staring at the ceiling, waiting for Jeno to come back from the washroom next doors.

He was uncomplicated and you were happy in his company; he accepted the careful, shy touches you offered and gave hugs that lasted and pieced you back together when you felt like breaking.

 

He realized the festivities would soon come to a peak during a small grocery run with you, staring at the already reduced advent calendars on the sale rack. Looking at them out of wide eyes, a cup of instant noodles in each hand, he looked too funny not to snap a picture. He glared at you after turning his head and finding you giggling over his expression.

"Shut up." He grumbled.

The 25th of December arrived, clad in fluffy white and overcast skies. You spend the afternoon dozing with your head on his chest, listening to him tapping away on your phone, scrolling through Pinterest. His phone lay on his small CD player, connected by an aux cable and playing his music as a soft background.

"You know, you can always download the app yourself." You mumbled, and he hummed in response.

"But it's so interesting to see what gets suggested to you."

 

* * *

 

 

The week between the years was hectic in some ways and none in others; work kept you busy and you almost lost hope you'd see the dark-haired dancer again before the year would end. But then he messaged you on Sylvester, saying how his friends and him would have a get-together later that evening, and if you wanted to attend?

And you said yes.

To your pleasant surprise there wasn't too much alcohol consumed, and everyone was more or less there to have a good time. Cardgames were played and pizza eaten en masse, along with other take out and a lot of different sodas. Everyone had brought something, and together you anticipated the clock closing in on 12.

At a quarter past eleven one of the guys - presumably Yukhei - suggested a walk. You hadn't seen the face of the speaker, since the flat of the person who was playing host wasn't large enough to house everyone in one spot, and so the party was evenly spread out among the three rooms, and thus could only guess it had been Yukhei, but the idea was met with vast approval. You agreed as well, hoping the fresh air would clear your head a bit.

It had gone quite fuzzy over the last hours, the carefree, playful mood of the others contagious.

Doyoung had offered you vodka at the beginning but after you had politely declined and said you weren't drinking he had loudly exclaimed your cup was to steer clear of any intoxicating substance, and so far it had worked out.

The boys were a rowdy, cheerful bunch, and if you hadn't watched them all practicing last week you would have never guessed they were all great dancers moving with such precision and in synch that it looked like one great body and not many individuals. There was a bit of squeezing and pushing and the occasional shout among the laughter as everyone put on their coat and shoes, shimmying through the front door to wait outside.

Jeno shyly reached for your hand after the last person had pulled the door shut and the whole group slowly migrated towards the street's corner and the park two blocks down. Conversation made clusters form, and soon enough the group had diverted into smaller segments. Jeno and you found yourself in the middle between the louder, relentlessly chattering bunch in the front and the slower, more talking deeply and enjoying the stroll ones in the back.

From somewhere over the trees a church's clock tower began to chime and commotion erupted up front.

"Is it twelve already??" Someone yelled, half in panic, followed by raucous laughter and cheers as fireworks began to explode in the sky all around you.

The snow helped in dipping the park in a greyish, pale light that made you able to see despite the lack of lanterns, but when a sea of golden stars burst overhead and you looked at Jeno you could see the light reflect in his eyes as he stared skywards. They were wide in wonder and amazement, mouth forming a small "o".

"Happy New Year, Jeno." You said quietly, tugging at your connected hands. The lights burned out and his eyes met yours.

"Happy New Year, ________!" He bend down and hugged his arms around you tightly, picked you up and spun you around. After setting you down he didn't let go, and you laughed in giddyness.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked, breathless, face reflecting the joy you felt. You bit your lip and yet couldn't prevent the grin from spreading, nodding.

In the next second his lips met your icy cheek, leaving a long smooch there, and your heart flared with adoration for him.

"I love you." You blurted out, still with your arms around his shoulders and could feel him smiling against your cheek.

"I lov you too." He spoke it against your cheek, pulled back to look into your eyes and then hugged you again. "So so much."

 

* * *

 

 

To both of your surprise you weren't the last people to make it back to the flat.

About half of everyone who had set out to the park earlier had returned already, gathering in front of the door, some with clueless, other with annoyed faces.

"What's wrong?" Jeno asked a visibly worked up Taeyong whose hair was dishevelled, his hat lying in a small heap in front of the door like he had thrown it against the glass and wood structure in a fit of rage.

"Uh, nobody thought to take the key..." Mark answered in place of Taeyong, who looked close to combusting.

"Oh shit." It escaped you before you covered your mouth to hide a laugh.

"Do you have ANY idea how much it's gonna cost to get someone to open this door on New Year??" Taeyong moaned, his anger quickly morphing into despair.

Jeno squeezed your hand. Your cheek was still burning from where his lips had touched it, and it added to the warmth nestled in your middle. Not even a forgotten key and the impending cold could change that.

**Author's Note:**

> for whom it may concern;  
> they totally piled into the closest 24/7 McD's and ordered 3/4 of the menu while waiting for doyoung to retrieve the key taeyong remembered having given to him as a back-up.


End file.
